1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an embroidery data generating device which generates embroidery data of an embroidery pattern composed of a plurality of color-based pattern portions, a computer-readable storage medium which stores an embroidery data processing program, and a sewing machine.
2. Related Art
There have conventionally been known multi-needle sewing machines which sew an embroidery pattern based on embroidery data. One of the multi-needle sewing machines is provided with a plurality of needle bars to which needles are attached respectively. Different colors of needle threads are supplied to the respective needles of the needle bars. Data of a plurality of embroidery patterns is stored on a storage device built in the multi-needle sewing machine or on an external storage device such as a ROM card or a flexible disc. When a user selects a desirable one of the plural embroidery patterns, the multi-needle sewing machine reads embroidery data of the selected embroidery pattern to sew the embroidery pattern on a workpiece cloth while transferring an embroidery frame holding the cloth by a transfer mechanism.
An embroidery pattern normally includes a plurality of color-based pattern portions. More specifically, embroidery data of an embroidery pattern includes thread color data for identifying colors of the color-based pattern portions. One of the needle bars is selected and the selected needle bar is moved to a sewing position so that each color-based pattern portion is sewn in a set color (thread color). In this case, when the color of each color-based pattern portion is similar to a color of the workpiece cloth (fabric) on which the embroidery pattern is to be sewn, there would occur a problem that each color-based pattern portion is difficult to distinguish from the workpiece cloth. For example, when an embroidery pattern of “flower” is sewn on a workpiece cloth that has the same color as a color of the color-based pattern portion of a flower petal, the flower petal and the workpiece cloth are difficult to distinguish each from the other, whereupon there is a possibility that the embroidery pattern may mistakenly be regarded as an odd flower without flower petal.
In view of the above-described drawback, the conventional art provides an embroidery data generating device which stores coloration data indicative of preferable combinations of colors, so that colors of thread color data of color-based pattern portions are set on the basis of cloth data indicative of the coloration data, color of the workpiece cloth and the like.
The aforementioned conventional embroidery data generating device unmistakably determines colors of color-based pattern portions of an embroidery pattern based on the color of the workpiece cloth and coloration data. However, the user would sometimes like to sew each color-based pattern portion in a preferable color or an odd color but not using a previously set color. Furthermore, in order that such designation of colors of an embroidery pattern may be carried out, data of each color-based pattern portion needs to be read one by one for the user to confirm and designate thread color data, with the result that the embroidery sewing is troublesome.
Furthermore, in the case where the number of types of thread color data for color-based pattern portions or the number of types of colors is large when sewing is carried out by the multi-needle sewing machine on the basis of the embroidery data, the increase in the number of colors necessitates frequent replacement of thread spools, resulting in adverse effects on the sewing work.